


Haunted Paragon

by The_Digital_Writer



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adorable Avatar Animals, Character Death, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Eventual Romance, F/M, Minor Violence, Slow Burn, Suggestive Themes, There Is No War In Ba Sing Se, Universe Alterations, War, i update when I can
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Digital_Writer/pseuds/The_Digital_Writer
Summary: Life was unexciting for Esaki. She lived merely for the sake of living and drifted across the world with no purpose after the death of her father. A chance encounter with Retired General Iroh, a man she owed much to, added color to her bleak days. Now aboard the ship of the Banished Prince, Esaki must uphold her morals while simultaneously chasing after a twelve year old with a penchant for misadventures. {Follows story from Books 1-3 with Canon Divergence later on}
Relationships: Zuko (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 8





	Haunted Paragon

### Prologue

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him the most, he vanished.

Nearly a hundred years had passed when a baby was born. The mother died due to sickness shortly after her daughter learned to bend, leaving the girl under her father's watchful eye. Because of the ongoing war, the father was often absent. His title as General prevented him from spending much time with his beloved child, so the girl was mostly raised by a nanny that had been hired.

Despite the loneliness that crept into the little girl's mind, she found ways to fill the silence. Her favorite method of entertainment was training. Her nanny often scolded her for practicing her firebending for hours on end, as she was apt to miss entire meals because of her preoccupation. It was also a common occurrence for the nanny to chastise the girl for getting burns whenever she experimented with her bending a little too much.

This was the life the girl had known up until her tenth year. It had been like any other day. She had awoken at sunrise, trained until breakfast, and helped her nanny clean the house. The only thing that changed the girl's consistent schedule was a servant from the Fire Lord's palace delivering a scroll. The little girl watched in confusion as her nanny carefully unsealed the message and read it.

"Esaki," the nanny softly addressed once she had finished the letter, "your father's been injured. He was hurt on the march to Ba Sing Se. Apparently his troupe had been ambushed by Earth Kingdom benders and most of the soldiers have passed away. Your father was discovered to be alive when General Iroh found him amongst the..." The nanny paused and tried to find a suitable phrase for a young child.

"Carnage?" Esaki supplied, seemingly unfazed by the vivid imagery the word presented.

The nanny sighed and nodded before continuing.

"His exact condition is currently unknown. General Iroh has promised to keep us informed. He said that, if your father is capable, he'll send some of his own troupe to escort him back to the Fire Nation. He doesn't believe that your father will be able to return to his duties, however. It is likely that he'll be impaired for the rest of his life..."

"Impaired how?" Esaki questioned, tilting her head.

The nanny flinched at the deadpanned expression on her charge's face before replying.

"It seems that... he's lost both his left arm and eye. His left leg may also have sustained severe damage."

There was a moment of silence before Esaki spoke up.

"My father will be fine," she stated confidently, amber eyes glinting in the morning sunlight. "He's strong, you know. Before you know it, he'll be back to normal."

The nanny cracked a small smile. She shouldn't have been surprised at Esaki's unyielding faith in her father.

If only the young girl's words had come true.

~*~

Seven years after Esaki's father had been severely injured on the battlefield, a certain prince and his uncle had just arrived at a port. The town surrounding it was one of the many Fire Nation colonies that had been established within the Earth Kingdom. Prince Zuko glared at his surroundings while his uncle admired a vase some vendor was selling.

"We're not here to buy decorations, Uncle!" Zuko grumbled to the older man. "We need to collect information on you-know-what."

Iroh looked up at his nephew with wide eyes.

"But this vase is so pretty! It would fit perfectly in my cabin."

Before Zuko could scold his uncle, the vendor spoke up.

"Hey, kid," the trader addressed as he leaned against his stand, "if it's information you're looking for, there's this woman with knowledge about a lot of things. I talked to her yesterday while she was buying produce from my wife. Supposedly she's staying in town for a couple days. Maybe she'll have the info on whatever it is you need."

Zuko raised the only eyebrow that remained on his face, considering the other had been destroyed when he had been given the scar on his face. He ignored the fact that he was called a kid in favor of questioning the man.

"Where can I find her?" the prince asked, willing to follow any leads possible.

"Well, she's usually got this giant eagle-lion with her, so you can't really miss her. If she doesn't, she's got dark hair and's probably around your height, I'd say. Maybe a little shorter. It'll probably be easiest to just wait around the tea stalls at the center of the market. My wife says she's apparently a bit of a tea fanatic."

Iroh beamed at the last sentence.

"I like her already!" the retired general exclaimed, grabbing onto Zuko's arm. "Come, nephew, we must find this delightful woman!"

Zuko could only hope that his uncle wouldn't try to use his "gentlemanly attraction" on the lady, as he was apt to do. He especially wished this when he spotted the "woman", who was in fact much closer to his own age than his uncle's.

~*~

Esaki smiled politely as she purchased a bag of tea leaves from the vendor in front of her.

"Thank you," she said softly to the old woman running the stand.

"Oh, you're so polite, dear," the granny chuckled. "You're the one who keeps buying from me. I swear you've given me a year's worth of trade just from the few days you've been here!"

"Well," Esaki began, placing her bag of goodies into a saddle that rested on her eagle-lion, "you do sell the best tea leaves around."

Before the teen could hear the vendor's response, her loyal animal bumped his beak against her arm. Esaki's attention was then drawn to two people wearing Fire Nation armor. She withheld a frown when she saw that they were approaching her. Most of the time, the only reason soldiers would interact with her was because they thought she had stolen her eagle-lion from a noble, as the creatures were exotic animals and extremely hard to train.

Before Esaki could tell the men to buzz off, her eyes widened when she recognized the portly part of the duo.

"General Iroh?" Esaki stammered.

Iroh and Zuko stood in front of the teen, the former cocking his head in confusion.

"I'm sorry, young lady," Iroh apologized. "Have we met before?"

Esaki, finally regaining her composure, scratched the back of her neck.

"You probably don't remember me, but I'm General Eiha's daughter. We met once when he invited you over to our house for tea."

Iroh's mouth fell into an 'o' as he clapped his hands.

"Yes, yes, I remember now!" he jovially laughed. "You were the odd little one that kept experimenting with her firebending while your father and I watched you train in your backyard!"

Esaki flushed a light pink at the mention of her awkward childhood self.

"Ah, I also seem to recall you singeing my beard a tad when a fire ball was led astray..." Iroh murmured, stroking said facial hair nostalgically.

Esaki blushed once more. "I'm terribly sorry about that, by the way. I was always a bit reckless as a child."

Before the two could continue their conversation, Zuko snarled.

"Enough with the pleasantries!" the prince exclaimed. "We're on a tight schedule and if you don't have the information we need, this'll have been a waste of time."

"Prince Zuko," Iroh scolded, "you should know better than to talk to a lady like that." The old man turned and smiled at Esaki. "I apologize for my nephew. It seems he's lost his manners yet again and needs to find them. How about you and I have tea on our ship while he searches for them?"

Before Zuko could protest, Iroh had already started to lead Esaki towards the docks. The eagle-lion happily bounded after her, though he only did so after glaring at the fuming prince.

~*~

Esaki observed her surroundings as Iroh stepped onto the metal ship. Her eyebrows raised when she spotted a table already set up on the deck with a pot of tea on it.

"My nephew often trains here and I watch him while relaxing," Iroh explaining when he caught sight of her confused expression. "Come, have a seat. The other soldiers are either in the break room or at the local tavern, so don't be surprised if some are coming or going."

Esaki kneeled down on a pillow and thanked Iroh as he handed her a cup of tea. Her eagle-lion laid down beside her, his head resting on his front paws. Iroh smiled at the animal as it stared at him.

"What a handsome creature," Iroh commented. "However did you get it?"

Esaki placed her tea on the table as she pet the feathered head beside her.

"As a child, I spent so much time firebending that I often overworked myself, so my father thought that it would be best if I found another hobby to do while I rested," explained Esaki. "After knitting, painting, reading, and the like didn't work out, my father gave me an egg and told me to take care of it. It soon hatched and it was up to me to train the eagle-lion kit that came out."

Iroh chuckled. "I imagine it took up a majority of your time. From my understanding, they're quite hard to tame."

"My father was a mastermind of mischief. He made sure that I learned patience all the while gaining a life long friend." Esaki stared down at her cup, amber eyes no longer glinting in the sunlight.

Iroh, catching her words, suddenly frowned.

"How is your father, by the way?" he asked, knowing that the last thing he'd heard was that the man hadn't been in his right mind after the battle where he'd lost a limb.

Esaki lifted her head and furrowed her eyebrows.

"General Iroh," she spoke softly, fingers laced in her lap, "he's been dead for the past two years. Shortly after he returned to the capital, we moved to the colonies. He ended up developing a disease that affected his mind and, combined with the trauma that the war had done to him, he didn't last very long. I sent a letter to the capital explaining that he had passed. I thought that you would've received it, or at least heard about it."

"I'm..." Iroh whispered, head bowed. "I'm sorry for your loss, my dear. He was an incredible man."

Esaki simply nodded. The two sat in silence for a few moments before they heard feet pounding against the metal gangplank that lead to the dock.

"Uncle!"

Iroh looked up from his tea. He and Esaki watched as Zuko ran towards them.

"What's the matter? Has the market run out of tea leaves again?!" Iroh gasped.

Esaki smiled politely. "I doubt that's the case, and if it were, I'd be glad to give you mine."

Iroh cooed and clasped his hands together. "Such a sweet young lady you are."

"That's not what I'm here to tell you!" Zuko exclaimed in aggravation, pausing for a moment as he glanced at Esaki. "You-know-who was seen camping out in the forest nearby. Ready the Komodo Rhinos." He paused once more, glaring at Esaki. "And get her off my ship!"

With that, the prince stormed into the ship, most likely to gather his soldiers. Once he was gone, Esaki turned to Iroh with a furrowed brow.

"I assume the information Prince Zuko was hoping to get from me has already been found?" Esaki mumbled.

Iroh sighed, "It would appear so. I'm sorry, my dear, but it seems our conversation must go on hiatus. Would you like to wait here for us to return? I imagine we'll be back soon, as it tends to happen quite often..."

Esaki tilted her head. "Would you like my assistance with whatever it is you're searching for? It's the least I can do for the man who saved my father's life."

Iroh's eyes crinkled. With a smile, he nodded. He had a feeling that if he declined her offer, she would insist otherwise. While the old man was slightly hesitant to enlist the help of a young woman for his nephew's attempt to capture the Avatar, there was a small part of him that felt as though he had to include her.

"I can follow the rhinos on Shadik."

"Shadik?"

At the mention of his name, the eagle-lion stood up with his head held high. Esaki watched her partner practically flaunt himself before casting Iroh a look.

"Who do you think I mean?"

Iroh just laughed.

~*~

Scowling at his uncle, Zuko snarled under his breath. "What is _she_ doing with _us_?"

"She offered to help," Iroh explained as the prince and soldiers prepared to set off. "Quite frankly, you can use as much of that as possible when it comes to hunting the Ava-"

"Don't tell her what we're doing!" Zuko hissed, interrupting the older man, sending a side glance to Esaki, who was adjusting the saddle resting under Shadik's wings.

Iroh frowned. "Well, how is she supposed to help you if she doesn't even know what she's chasing after? It's not as though the Avatar's existence is a secret anymore, especially after news spread from Kyoshi Island when he stayed there for quite some time."

Zuko was ready to throw his hands up when he saw Esaki had overheard his uncle's not so subtle statement.

"You're chasing after the Avatar?" Esaki gaped. "I understand he's considered the Fire Nation's enemy, but why are you, the prince, actively pursuing him?"

Fists clenched, Zuko whipped his head around and growled. "It's none of your business!"

All Esaki did was blink before internally sighing. As much as she loathed to admit it, Zuko was the crown prince and deserved respect just for his title, even if his personality could use some tweaking. So, Esaki simply bowed before returning to her eagle-lion.

"See, nephew?" Iroh chuckled when he notice Zuko's confused expression at the fact that Esaki hadn't put up a fight at his harsh words. "Manners can be used to defuse tension. This is why they are so important to learn!"

"Are you _still_ on about me apparently not having any manners?!" Zuko complained.

Esaki, disguising a chuckle as a cough, spoke up. "Shouldn't we get a move on now? If we wait much longer, the Avatar may catch wind of our advance."

Zuko agreed, albeit in a disgruntled manner. He quickly ordered the men (and woman) to head towards the forest. The plan was to ambush the Avatar while he was a distance away from his bison, so as to prevent him and his cohorts from escaping. If necessary, the soldiers could hold one of the Water Tribe children hostage, as the Avatar had been shown to be willing to do nearly anything to save his friends. Zuko's vowed to capture the Airbender, no matter the cost.


End file.
